By Pepper Parr
July 7th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Elsewhere in the Gazette we report on the trip Mayor Meed Ward made to France to celebrate the landings on D Day 75 years ago.
Marianne Meed Ward wrote about the feelings she experienced during her five days in France.
Of the numerous things that came out of this was a strong interest in a twinning relationship with Courseulles-sur-Mer, France.
Intricate gardens in Apeldoorn, Holland
Spring trees will bloom in Itabashi, Japan and hopefully in Burlington as well.
Burlington is currently twinned with Apeldoorn in Holland and Itabashi in Japan which begs the question – just how many communities does Burlington want to be twinned with?
Is the cap on twinning three –or could it go to five?
Film footage of Canadian soldiers racing for shore on June 6th 1944
Burlington’s relationship with Juno Beach, the site the Canadian Landing Craft rushed onto the beaches of France, with hundreds of Canadians soldiers aboard who, in many cases, raced ashore once the front ramp had been dropped and faced withering gunfire. Some didn’t get beyond the end of the ramp.
Her report to a COW Standing Committee directs the City Clerk, in cooperation with the Burlington Mundialization Committee to report back to Committee of the Whole in Q4 2019 with options for twinning with Courseulles-sur-Mer; and
It also directs the City Clerk to provide proposed criteria, for committee’s consideration, for future twinning relationships including consideration of a city in a developing country.
In the report Meed Ward said: “I believe it is essential to formalize and continue our relationship with Courseulles-sue-Mer and the Juno Beach Centre.
During her runs for city council and her run for the Office of Mayor, which she now holds, Meed Ward has also said that the city needs to focus on the “need to have” and not so much on the “nice to have”.
@PepperParr. Your point is what? You seem to be questioning this with an implied negative bias? Why is that? Are there sizeable costs incurred with twinning? If not, what’s the issue? Is there a downside to twinning?
Conversely, one could also ask whether there are any significant benefits to twinning. If the answer to said question is “none”, and there are no significant costs either, then it begs the next question; namely, why bother in the first place? Surely we have more pressing problems and needs to contend with other than mundialization.
Ummmmm sorry but was that a news article? It was pretty lame and empty. More of a thought on your part than a news worthy story. What was the point?? Slow news day? It is under the “news banner” not editors notes or opinions…. sad.
Editor’s note: Good point – it was perhaps an opinion piece.